Greenwich Cross Country team powerhouse Victor Dahl held his position leading the field including Greenwich teammates Will Newberry, center, and Alex Huebner for the 5K around Tod's Point during the Greenwich High School Cross Country Meet Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 22, 2009.

Stamford Cross Country team's Brandon Docimo looks relaxed as he races toward around Tod's Point followed by teammate Steve Hagedus during the Greenwich High School Cross Country Meet Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 22, 2009.

Greenwich Cross Country team's Camille Matonis cruises to a third place finish iin the girls varsity division at Tod's Point during the Greenwich High School Cross Country Meet Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 22, 2009.

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When the Greenwich boys and girls cross country team took to the starting line yesterday in a quad meet at Greenwich Point Park, they knew this was an opportunity to measure themselves against one of their strongest league opponents in Trumbull. When the finish line was crossed and the dust had settled, the Cardinals proved to themselves and their competitors that they are an improved program that can run with the best as the boys finished second to Trumbull, while beating Westhill and Stamford, and the girls notched a third-place finish.

The Greenwich High boys (3-4) were led by junior Victor Dahl, who smoked the rest of the field with a blistering time of 17:02, which was 18 seconds better than the second-place time of Trumbull's Robert Held. Dahl's time earned him his first-ever victory and led the way for teammates Will Newberry (17:22), Alex Huebner (18:15), Ben Wilbanks (18:30), and Ryota Ishizuka (18:37), who all posted top-10 times.

"As a team we ran very well today," Dahl said. "I don't believe we've run this well as a team in a while so it was nice to see us represented so well in the top-10 times."

The Trumbull boys rounded out the top ten with five runners of their own and took first place on the day by edging the Cardinals by a 24-31 count. For Greenwich, which posted a pair of wins over Westhill (15-50) and Stamford (15-48), this meet was about seeing how they stack up against Trumbull while moving one step closer to their goal this season.

"We expected a great meet out of Trumbull and I am proud of how we competed against them," Newberry said. "We still have a lot of work to do but our sights are set on getting 10 wins this year and I think we have the talent to do it."

For the Greenwich girls (3-4), the afternoon was highlighted by the performance of junior Camille Matonis, who impressed with a third-place time of 17:06, finishing just behind Westhill's Madeleine Elkins (16:07) and Trumbull's Danielle Klein (16:26). It was a performance that will aide not only the success of Matonis' future races but the team's success as a whole, according to head coach Bill Mongovan.

"Those girls that Camille finished behind are two of the best runners in the FCIAC and I think it is good for her to compete with the best," Mongovan said. "When you have that type of runner who leads the pack, they make the entire team better and that is what we are looking for out of Camille."

While Matonis leads the way for Greenwich, it stands to reason that teamwork will determine the success of the Cardinals.

"We've been working on running as a pack and to stay close to one another," Matonis said. "It always helps when you have the support of your teammates and this team is always encouraging one another to get better."

The Greenwich girls picked up one win on the day beating Stamford 16-47 but fell to Westhill 22-33 and first-place Trumbull 19-44.

Both the Greenwich boys and girls will take to the starting line again on Saturday when they will compete at Bethel.